ratoe



4 Shets-Sheet 3.

QOTTQN HARVESTER;

, Patented M y 10, 1887.

NITED "STATES A Es RAWLE, or: PHILADELPHIA, P NNSYLVANIA.

coTi'oNg H ARvssTsR,

, SPECIFICATION forming part of-Letters Patent Nb. 362,588, dated ma 'io, l87.

' Application filed August 151L866 .To all whom it may concern.-

, Be it known that I, JAMES RAWLE. a an zen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Harvest ers or Apparatus and-Method of Gathering Cotton; and I do hereby declare the follow- 'ing to be a full-, clear, and exact description .sists'in certain details of construction and ar rnngement of .the parts composing a cotton harvester or apparatus for facilitating the girthering of the same when constructed according" to my invention, whereby to accomplish the desired end-viz., conveying the cotton dircctly from the plant in the field to the gin or storage house without rehandling-as will be hereinafter more particularly.described, and

pointed out in the claims.

.As now most generally practiced, the'har;

- vesting. or picking, as it is called, of cotton is performed by hand, the ripe cotton'first bi ing detached from the'bolls by the hands of the laborer and deposited in a basket or bag carried at his side,which receptacle, when full, is conveyedto and its contents emptied into a cart or other vehicle, which passes back and forth over the field among the pickers, andwhen having received its load is driven oh to the store or gin house at the entrance to which the cotton is deposited, tobe by other attendants removed within the house and piled adjacent the ginning-machine for feeding thereto. It will thus be seen that the cot-ton is subjected to several handlings before it reaches the gin, during which it receives considerable dirt, sand, 820. because of being 'brought'into contn'ct with the ground, feet of the laborers, floor of vehicle, &c,, and to free it from which i'm' purities expensive machines'lhave been devised. Aside from this a greatit-em in the cost of cottonis due-tothetime' consumed inns;-

' picking, and the greatest amount of'tiine con L 'sumedis thatexpended incarrying the con; tentsfot,the haskct=or bag of the pickers to the hart-or, vehicle,'aud thence to the place ct de l posit'ontsideioi the held; and egsin, .-in,edi dt-.,

the picking progressed, and whether the devices for picking the cotton werejinsuch ma-.

- heavy,,,

Serial No; 209,926. (No model.)

.tion to this loss of time and admixture 'ofdirt; I consequent upon repeated handlings of the cotton, much of it gets injured as well asscat- 5 5 tered about and lost at each of said rehandlings, thus makingan additional and no small item in the prime cost of the staple; l -VVith aview ,of facilitating the gathering of cotton, and thereby effecting asaving in the 60 cost thereof by overcoming thelossof time ofv the pickers in passing to and from the delivcry-carts, various forms of machines more or I less complicated and expensive have been devised, in some of which the cotton was removed 65 from the plant by mechanical means'a'nd'without the interventionot the humanhands, and. v V

in others suctionorblast, or both combin d crating through atuberghictL-WQS, to

"lthecottonbollfliasbeen employed bot-hto pick 0 and convey the cotton as it was-removed from the plant to suitable receptaclescloseat hand; but-in all such instances, so far asI-canlearn, the machines were portable-that is, designed to be moved back and forth over the field as 7 5 chines mechanical ones or a pipethrougkhwhich. an air-current was created byv suitable means situated upon the said machine the'op-T8o eration intended to be performed thereby wasthat merely of picking, the cotton only being conveyed from the plantto suit-able receptacles situated upon'the frame of said machinawhich was run close adjacent the rows of plants, from '85 whence as it accumulated it was conveyed by the {tsual carters to the gin or storage house. I outslgje of the field. In other words, all machines heretofore designed for harvesting cotton have only been directed to the single op'er-- o ation of picking, so that even though asaving may have been efi'ected as regards the "move-Y ments to and from the delivery-carts 'of the"- laborers, yet the services of said carts,w'ith the attendant expense thereof and objections as'to 9 5" rehandling of-the cotton, and collection of dirt .thereimjwerenot dispensed with, and besides ltgis ,nea all such machines were more 'orl 1 co tlapd 0st of ruuning,as well as exceedingly v specially so when the apparatus com-' prehended the employment of a'tube with air ,current-therein because of an engine or similax" maehinemith its appurtenances of. fan,

s comp ioated, expensive both as to first I boiler, pump, furnace, &-c., being necessary in such an apparatus for creating the necessary air-current, so that considerable power was required to move such machine and skilled service necessary in their attcndancef To overcome the several objections herein enumerated--viz., the loss of time by the pickers in passing to and from the delivery-carts and the carters in going to and from the storage-house or place ofdeposit, as well as "the expense of said teams and their attendants with the attendant loss and injury of the cot ton by such rehandlings-is the object of my invention, now to be described in detail, and by which it is proposed to render practicable and within the reach of planters of moderate means the use of a current of air for taking the cotton from the hands of the human pickers and quicklydelivering it to either the storage or gin house, or, better still, directly into the mouth of the ginning machine, without any handling other than that necessaryin its picking, which handling has been demonstrated by practical experience to be necessary, because of the peculiarities which exist in the growth and ripening of cotton being such as to render impracticable the use of purely mechanical means for extracting'the ripe cotton from the plants without injuring the plants and unripe cotton, and obtaining only that which is ready for picking.

In carrying out myinvention I proceed as follows, reference being new directed to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the details of construction and arrangement of the parts composing a machine or apparatus for harvesting cotton when constructed according to my invention, and in which drawings Figure 1 represents a view in perspective ,of a portion of a cotton-field, along the top of one of the rows of cotton-plants of which is arranged a line of pneumatic tubing which extends to near the outer end of said row and at its other end terminates in 'a fan arranged within the distant gin-house. Fig. 2'is asimilar view showing the line of tubing spanning a ravine or other depression or road across the field, and having a portable engine and fan driven thereby interposed in its length between the field and house to facilitate the conveyance of the cotton thereto in case the same is unusually distantor ditficult of access. Fig. 3 represents a central longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of the adjacent ends of two sections ofthe tubing,illust.rating thejoints or connections thereof, as also the formation of the entrance in said tubing for the dependingflcxible hand-pipe. Fig. 4isavicw in side elevation of a portion of one of the sectims of tubing with its depending flexible handpipe, showing themanncr of uniting said pipe to the tubcby meansof thchandclamp. Figs. band 6 illustrate afacc and edgevicw, respectv ivcly, of one of the movable roller bracketbearings for the tubing, showing the construction of the same. Fig. 7 is a view ofa portion of the end of the pneumatic conduit-tube,showing the manner of attaching the fan thereto. Figs.

8 and 9 represent a side elevation and plan, re

spectivcly, of a portion of the said tubing with fan attached, illustrating the said fan as connected to a receiving receptacle for the cotton adjacent the casing of said fan. Fig. 1-0 is a sectional view,on an enlarged scale, of the mouth of the hand-pipe, showing the valve therein. Fig. 1lisaview,0n an enlarged scale, of the hand-clamp and metal band for effecting the union of the joints between the sections of tubing and tube and hand-pipes.

A rotary or other fan, as at A, which may be either an exhaust or blast fan, or the equivalent of either for obtaining astrong current of air, is suitably set up in the gin-house B, or other house or suitable place outside of the cotton field, and arranged to be driven by power, either the usual horse-power, C, or an engine, 1).

Attached to one side of the casing of the fan is the line of tubing E, preferably made of galvanized sheet-iron, the tube being of suitable diameter and made in conveniently portable lengths, probably about twelve feet each section. This line of tubing is supported on light strong frames F, made preferably of mallcablc iron, which will have a span of about five feet at the bottom extremities and one and one-half or two feet attheir top end, with a depression in the top to receive the tubing,

and, if need be, a hasp to secure the tubing in place. lhc bottom ends of these supports F are provided with light wheels or casters f, about twelve inches in diameter, and with a rather broad tread'or face to prevent their sinking in the soft earth, and they are of such width or span and height as to resttheir wheels :ibout midway between the rows of plants and to carry the tubing above or near the tops-of said plants, the casters or wheels admitting of the supports being moved transversely to the rows of plants without material injury to the said plants.

Each section of the line of tubing is joined to the next one by a shortpiece'of rubber, canvas, or other flexible tubing, as at (i, which must be air-tight, or nearly so, care being taken in the fastening of such ll -xible joints tothe metal tubing that no projection or shoulder shall exist inside thcsamc opposed to the current-of air, whereby the cotton may be caught or dammed, and in each of the said sections E, composing the line of tubing, at suit.- able intervals, probably every six feet, is formed an opening, as at c, with nipple e, to which is attached a short piece of flexible or other pipe ol'suitable diameter, as at I], joining onto the main line of tubing at an angle, as shown in Fig. I. si x feet long, {more or less, as seemsdesirable. Atthc farthest end from the line of tubingof these short pipes is a funnel-shaped mouthpiece containing a valve or gate, as at h, with 'lhis pipe It may bcabout ceases l 3 lever h, which lever, when the valve is open,

will lie closet-o the short pipe, about in line with it, as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 10.

Theinaiu line of tubing should be of such 'lcngthas to reach to the farthest end of the rows of plants, and the most economical method of operation will be to have the storage orginninghouse in the center of the field, for in this way the line of tubing can be moved in a, circle around the fan withoutdifiiculty. In'ficlds where the surface of the land ,is

v reasonably even and smooth there will be no difiicultyin setting up the line of tubing and in'moviug it from row to row. Shouldthcrc be gullies or hollows these may be crossed by a long sectiou of rigid tubing having atruss-rod above and'below and its eudsrestingon'two of ,the supports, as at D, Fig. 2. In small fields, or in fields with decidedly uneven surface, it

may be found best to use the'fan in connection with a portable engine, as in Fig. 2, both fan and engine being placed outside the field of plants and provided with the dischargebox shown in Figs; Sand 9, wherebythe cotton may be collected at this point or-conducted in 1 adifl'erent direction, as desired or found necessupports, as well as tubing, are made "in as light portable form as is possible consistent with the requisite strength, so as to -'render it easy of adjustment from row to row across the fieldor for transportation to and from the-same, and also so that they may be readily taken down and stored in winter. Ow ing to thefle'xible joints, the line of tubing will adapt itself to slight inequalities in the surface "of the ground and render its adjustments across the field easier of accomplishment because of said joints yielding and-permitting the line Qftubing to assume such curves or angles as may be found necessary in effecting a continuous communication from the cottonficld to the more or less remotely-situated place of deposit, and because of the cotton passing directly from the plant to the store,

house or into the ginning machine admixture of sand, dirt, 850., therewith is prevented, thus reducing the cost of cleaning the same.

In addition to the advantages derived by the useof such ail-apparatus heieindescribed of'facilitating the picking of thecotton from the plants and direct conveyance thereof to tlievgin-house, and prevention of admixtureof dirt and injury and loss thereof, said apparatus is simple in construclion and comparatively inexpensive as to firstcost, for it only comprehends a fan or similar device, a sufil icient number of tube-sections to reach from the gin-house to near the outer end of the field, with their depending flexible baud-pipes and suitable movable supports therefor,- and-- requiring neither skill nor unusual amount of labor in its management, and resulting in a large ycarl y saving in the cost of picking and 6:5 harvesting.

Turning again to the drawings, in,Fig..3

tubing, as'shown in Fig. 4.

In Figs. 8 and 9 a discharge-box, as at O,

the joint between two adjacent ends of the tubes E is shown as being effected by a'short rubber or canvasjtube, G, one end of which is fitted over the inner end of the tube E, and so held by double encircling-bands g of a handclamp, K, Fig. 11, and theother end placed within'the outer end of said tube E, to which it is secured-by metal band and rivets, as at raw, Fig. 3. This double overlapping band 9, for securing the flexible joint to the line of passed twice around said flexible connection,

tubing, is preferably made of spring metal and with its ends 9'9, Fig..l1, held one in' 1 each ofthejaws .T J of the hand'tool K; and

this hand-tool is composed of abodyorholder,

K, handle K, with screw-shank K", carrying a swivel, M, at its outer end, and jaws or hold- .ers J J,p ivoted, respectively, to theswi-vel M and the body or holder K of the implement,

whereby the-quick audsecnre clamping or instant disconnection of the flexible. tube to the metal tube may be effected by a simplemovenient'of the handle K, which, operating upon the pivoted holders J J to extend or contract them, tends to tighten or loosen the bands 91. Such a'device may also be nsed'for uniting the short flexible hand pipes to the is shown attached to the fan-ease, or it may be at the point of discharge of the line of limb .ing, which is provided with one or more open opening 6 is arranged at an'angle which inolines toward the outer end of the tubing, as shown in Fig. 3, and above this entrance, in

the tubing E, is formed a deflector o'r parti tion', E", to iusu re the proper lateral draft into the line of tubing from the haud-tubes,'so that the proper entrance and forward movement of the cotton are assured,and to prevent lodgment or dammiug of passing cotton in" the opelling 0, especially of such hand-pipes as-may be temporarily unemployed. H

The mouth of the flexible hand-pipe is, as before stated, made funnel-shaped, as shown in Fig. 10, and within the same is a valve gate as at h, having a handle, h, by which it is opeiied, and a springin for closing the same when'not in use. i

The'snpportsl Figs. 5 and 6, for the tubing are, as beforestated, preferably of malleable iron, light but strong, and of sufficient height and span to straddle the row of plants,

witha recess or seat,'f, within which is arranged a'swivel-plate, f in its top to receive and. hold the tubing, and the vlo'werends or legs, F, rounded into cylindrical shape and fitting into hollow cylinders Q, carrying the Wheelsf, whereby said ,wheels may be turned at different angles, and in which position they may be held by a throngh-bolafi, or other similar means to prevent the accidental turning of said casters until desired for moving the line oftubing. To prevent thcbursting of the tnbing,it is proposed to arrange a safety-valve in said tube adjacentthe fan or at some other convenient location, as in Figs. 1, 2; and, instead of securing one end of the flexible tube within the end of the metal tube by a band, as in Fig. 3, the end of the said flexible tube may be split and one part thereofplaced within the metal tube, which will prevent a shoulder being formed in the said line of tubing, and the other part placed outside of the end of the tube and secured by the bands and hand-clamp, as on the opposite end of said tloxibletube, as at Y, Fig. 3.

The operation is as follows: The fan or other device for obtaining a strong current of air through the tubing being first set in motion and a strong current of air created through said line of tubing, which had previously been arranged over the row of plants, as in Figs. 1.;

house, as in Fig. 2, or into other suitable reccptacles arranged r ady to receive it. .Vhen each operative has picked all the ripe cotton within reach of the short pipe being worked I by him, (and it is proposed to reach the plants within thr e rows,) they will drop the short tube, thcspringvalvcat thocndof which closprovided with depending flexible hand-pipes 3 adapted to he presented to the different plants ing said pipe automatically, and will thcn go to the next short pipe and continucthcoporation of picking. \\"hcn all the ripe cotton within ri-ach ot the tirst position ot'the linc of tubing has bccn gathered, all the opcrativcs working on the line will take position one at each of thcsupports,aud by pushing upon the 1 same, as well as upon the line ottubing, said j combination of a stationary storage or gin tubing will be adjustcd to auothcrsctol' rows ot'plants, and thc proccss of picking rcpcatcd with and discharges the cotton directly upon a machine which was run over the field as the picking progressed and adjacent the row of plants being operated upon, and which machine earried the said line of tubing as well as the necessary machinery for producing the current of air in said tubing, as also receptacles for the cotton, for this has before been at tempted; but

\Vhat I do claim as new and 'of my invention is as follows, viz:

1. In an apparatus for harvesting cotton, the combination of a stationary storage or gin house, a lincot' pneumatic tubing temporarily stationary and extending across the cottonfield alongside the row of plants and formed in sections with flexible joints, and provided with depending flexible hand-pipes adapted to be presented to the different plants in the row, a suetionfan connected to said line of tubing, and suitable means for supportiugthe said tithing above the plants, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

.2. In an apparatus for harvesting cotton, the combination of a stationary storage or gin house, a line of pneumatic tubing temporarily stationary and extending across the cottoniield alongside the row of plants and formed in sections with tlcxiblc joints, and provided with depending flexible handpipes adapted to be presented to the different plants in the row, asuction-fan connected to said line of tubing, and a suitable receptacle for receiving the cotton from said tube, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

3. In an apparatus for harvesting cotton, the combinatiogi of a stationary storage or gin house a lineof )neumatie tubin in sections having tlexiblcjoints extending from said storage or gin house to asecond line of tubing temporarily stationary and extending across the cotton-field alongside the row of plants and formed in sections with flexible joints, and

in the row, and a suction-fan with suitable motive power for the same interposed in the linc of tubing between the storehouse and cotton-field, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

-t. In an apparatus for harvesting cotton, the

house. a suction-fan and ginning-machine arranged in said house, and a line of pneumatic tubing temporarily stationary and extending across the cotton-field alongside the row of cotton when constructed according to my invcniion, l ish to hcrc state that I do not coniinc niyscll' to the use of an cxhaustlan, but

: may use a blastt'an or oi h r lll("lll.\, t he equivalcnt ol' citlu-i' kind of fan, to obtain a strong cuircnt of air through the lin of tubing; nor do i i h to Inund islood a laying'any broad claim to th use of a tulnwith air current or blast thcrcin, or both combined, for picking cotton whcn said tube is uscd in conuccti n plants and formed in sections with flexible joints, and provided with depending flexible hand pipcsadaptcd'to be presented to the d iffi-rent plants in the row, said tubing being connoctcddo said fan and discharging into the gilillintg lliztcllilie, substantially as described,

. for the purposes specified.

5. in an apparatus for harvesting cotton, in combination with the tube-section E, formed wit h angularly-placed nipple c and deflecting- Wall E, the flexible hand-pipe H, formed with adjacent said fan and provided with lateral a funnel-shaped mouth, h, carrying a springopenings P, substantially as desoribed,ffor the valve or gate, h, substantially as described, purposes specified. 7

for the purposes specified. JAMES RAWLi'l 5 6. In an apparatus for harvesting cotton, in' Witnesses:

combination with a line of tubing and suitable HENRY REED,

suction-fan, A, the discharge-box 0, arranged FRANCIS RAWLE 

